Arizona Tribune - Rubio plays down Trump attacks on pope before Vatican trip

Rubio, a devout Catholic, will meet Thursday at the Vatican with the first American-born pope, who has angered Trump by calling for an end to war in the Middle East and speaking out on defending migrants.

"It's a trip we had planned from before, and obviously we had some stuff that happened," Rubio told reporters at the White House when asked about Trump's criticism.

"There's a lot to talk about with the Vatican."

Rubio listed as an example an issue that generally unites the Trump administration and the Vatican -- religious freedom.

Trump, in an extraordinary attack on the leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics, last month took to social media to call the pope "WEAK on crime, and terrible for foreign policy."

The remark came after Leo called for peace in the Middle East war launched by Israel and the United States and said that Trump's genocidal call to destroy Iranian civilization forever was "unacceptable."

Trump again criticized the pope in an interview late Monday with conservative host Hugh Hewitt, alleging that Leo believes it is "OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon."

"I think he's endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people," Trump said.

"But I guess if it's up to the Pope, he thinks it's just fine for Iran to have a nuclear weapon."

Asked about Trump's latest comments, the pope told reporters Tuesday: "The Church's mission is to preach the Gospel and to preach peace."

"If anyone wishes to criticize me for proclaiming the Gospel, let them do so truthfully," he said.

"The Church has spoken out against all nuclear weapons for years, so there is no doubt about that, and I simply hope to be heard for the sake of the value of God's word."

Even before the clash, polls conducted in March and April showed growing disapproval of Trump among American Catholics, a warning sign after he won a majority of Catholic voters in the 2024 election.

Cuba is another likely topic of discussion in Rubio's talks at the Vatican.

The Holy See has long played an active role in diplomacy on Cuba, where Rubio -- a Cuban-American -- has been leading the Trump administration's efforts to pressure the communist state.

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A.O.Scott--AT